Nick, Rhonda, Reese, Finn, Charlie, Rio and Sally Jenkins

My All-Time Favorite NFL Players

Why? Because I’m feelin’ NFL football right now, it’s a lazy Friday afternoon on a holiday week, and I needed an excuse to embed some sweet YouTube videos.

1. Walter Payton. Da Man on Da Team, Sweetness was the best on and off the field. Almost bought a No. 34 jersey in Chicago last week, but that might not go over well in Seattle.

2. Devin Hester. Most exciting player of the last fifteen years, and you gotta love any guy who checks himself out on the jumbo-tron while the play is still going on, as he did during his kickoff return in the Super Bowl against the Colts.

3. Ed Reed. I like single-syllable names (hence “Reese” and “Finn”) and Ed Reed has two of them. Plus he’s the best DB of his generation and he’s a threat to score any time he touches the ball.

4. Barry Sanders. Up there with Payton, but Sweetness beats him on off-the-field charisma points.

5. Troy Aikman. If I had one guy around whom to build an NFL franchise, either he or John Elway would be the guy.

6. Jim Zorn. Left-handed QB’s not named Todd Marinovich are usually cool, and Dave Krieg’s predecessor was the coolest.

7. Michael Irvin. The best of the Jimmie Johnson-era Miami Hurricanes.

8. Wilber Marshall. In the early 1990’s he played linebacker about as well as it could be played.

9. Steve Largent. No way a guy with his physique should have played in the NFL, let alone prospered.

10. Earl Campbell. Largent in reverse. I’m sure he scared more than a few LB’s in his day.

11. Eric Dickerson. One of the ten best NFL RB’s ever, he’d make my list For the hair alone.

12. Michael Strahan. The fourth guy on my list from the University of Miami. Great player and, like fellow Hurricane Irvin, also an outstanding commentator.

13. Herschel Walker. There may have been better college RB’s, but I can’t name ’em.

14. Merton Hanks. Best. Neck. Ever.

15. Jim Plunkett. Gotta love him for coming back from the career dead — not to mention his rags-to-riches story (more).

I won’t bother with a separate entry but among my least favorite players: Michael Vick (not a big fan of dog killers, even if they did their time); Tom Brady (great player, but seems to spend a lot of time berating his coaches and teammates); Ryan Leaf (not a big fan of jerks); and Jay Cutler (the guy just looks like a d–k).